Next
by Never a Final Fantasy
Summary: Dean and Castiel fight to survive in Purgatory while trying to find a way back to Sam on Earth... All the monster's Dean had ever killed linger in the darkness waiting, now they are the hunters.


_I haven't written in... years so yes, I'm probably rusty. This is supposed to take place after the whirl into Purgatory where Season 7 ended._

_Regardless, I hope you enjoy it and take time to leave a comment. Thanks!_

**Next**

His breath was the only thing that sounded out louder than his heart slamming against his chest as if it'd burst. The pounding of his feet crunched and disturbed the forest floor as the Winchester ran as fast as her could through the haunting maze, machete gripped tight by his side slicing viciously through anything that stood in his way.

Those who perused him through the darkness were not far behind, the sounds of a dozen beasts trampling everything in their path, jumping and leaping from tree to tree. Some ran, some simply seemed to be gliding though Dean never bothered to look back and see for himself.

"Cas!" He shouted in a panicked raspy voice gasping for breath, his throat clenching tightly. It felt as though sand were being poured into his mouth... the searing pain that enveloped him as his lungs worked harder than they ever had, pushed to the limit and ready to explode.

Losing momentum his legs moved slower and slower becoming harder to pick his feet up to step over all the debris along the ground. Forcing himself he continued to sprint in the direction he'd been running in from the start, blinded by the darkness.

He knew it'd happen eventually, knew it was just a matter of time before something caught up. And of course it'd be nothing other than the werewolves themselves.. the things that traveled in packs and tore you to shreds before you even knew they were there. Him and Sam only ever fought a handful... never this big and never this many at once. He heard from other hunters they were more common in Europe.

This wasn't Europe though, and Sam wasn't here to help as the beast came from the dark throwing its body full force into Dean knocking the man off his feet and into the brush. The blade flew to the side and Dean's back hit a hidden trunk knocking the wind clean out of him. Gasping and rolling onto his stomach he tried so hard to catch his breath, that horrendous feeling as if something had cut off the flow.

Lowering itself back onto all fours the creature circled him snarling... the rest of his pack in the distance howling and heading this way. It watched him with gleaming ruby eyes, teeth browned at the gums and dripping with saliva. It's fangs were long, very long... and it looked as hungry as any monster stuck here in this hell.

Eying it, Dean scrambled for his knife across the dead leaves at the same time the wolf lunged. It wasn't all for naught, his hand was able to wrap around the blade but the wolf was successful as well opening it's mouth wide coming down hard on his left shoulder piercing the flesh and digging through it both his shoulder and chest. Crying out, Dean's eyes squeezed shut clenching his jaw and throwing himself back pinning the dog between the tree and himself with a forceful slam.

The wolf was disturbed enough as it's jaw released the Winchester allowing just enough space for him to swing around the machete and slide it through the opening of it's mouth. Dean gritted his teeth harder spinning and pressing the blade sideways against the back of it's throat before pulling in a sweeping motion, the dog ready to rip him to pieces if he didn't act fast.

The blade made the most haunting whistle as it severed through the animal's throat separating the beast's head from it's lower jaw and torso. The horrifying squeal it made only put Dean in a worse situation as he pushed it off of himself and took off once more in the direction that seemed the best choice. His left arm hung limp by his side as he gasped and whimpered in a blinding pain, red leather jacket shredded and blood dripping a nice trail behind him for the monsters to follow.

Rounding another turn he came to a creek bed, a flowing stream of water coursing it's way along the darkness. Staggering to the water he stopped only for a moment, he needed something to keep going or he thought he'd die... which really wasn't that big of a deal seeing as what was perusing him.

Kneeling down he took up the water in one cupped hand, his left arm unresponsive. Gulping as much water as he could in a few seconds he silenced himself to listen for the monsters. They seemed unusually quiet in their pursuit... though he sat there regardless drinking some more and catching his breath.

Beside him he felt his leg soak looking to his left only to see a pool of deep crimson filling beside him... the blood was his own and a lot of it. Wincing Dean looked even more worried, he didn't realize it was this bad. The adrenaline prevented him from taking it in, taking in just how wounded he was. He'd lost too much blood, too much for any man to keep going but he had no choice.

Raising himself to his feet he took a few steps in the direction he needed before stumbling over his own feet falling in to the tall cluster of poplar trees. His eyes glazed resting against the tree and taking a moment to refocus himself pushing off and taking just a few more steps before he outright fell.

His body hit the ground with a thud forcing an even stronger pain through his already wounded body. Wheezing, Dean forced his hand under his body trying his hardest to push himself up... though it seemed he had no strength left rolling onto his back and whimpering in pain. He reached for the knife once more gripping it tight against him protectively. Though deep down he knew it was pointless. It was just a matter of time before the blood trail would lead straight to him... straight to a fresh meal that could run no further. It figures, this is how it would again... again, stuck in some hell that wasn't his own.

"No good deed goes unpunished..." His chapped scarred lips hoarsely sounded out, eyes rolling back and closing slightly. He could barely keep consciousness. The scenery blurred in and out, lights swirling in his mind... a cluster of distorted thoughts, "Cas..."

Pointless to call out, his voice barely escaped a whisper... he felt as though he'd been laying there for ages in what would be his own grave. So tired it barely seemed to bother him, honestly... how bad was it to go to sleep? Being awake would be the real torture, awake while those monsters shredded him.

No... it was perfectly acceptable to close his eyes. In-fact, he'd be a fool if he didn't accept the feeling that over came him... his body shivering for unknown reasons.

But even as he drifted to a state of rest something in the darkness had sounded out stepping on twigs and leaves echoing in his ears.

Deans eyes cracked open once more turning his head in the direction of the sound but saw nothing, they were here. It was happening... there was no running this time.

Closing his eyes and rolling to lay on his back he slowly opened them once more only to be startled by a familiar face looming over him. Hazel eyes glazed from pain and loss of blood stared at him admirably but becoming more and more distanced, "Cas?"

"We have to go." The angel said sternly, his form trying to remain controlled but eyes telling another story as he watched the bloodied wound that claimed his friend, the man he'd been charged to protect all those years ago.

"It's too late Cas." Dean groaned not wanting to move, his lips pale and hands cold, "I'll just slow you down."

"Dean we don't have time." Trying his best to pull the man to his feet Cas tried to hide his panic draping Dean's good arm over his shoulder and supporting him by his side, the man laying limply against him, "You're not staying here."

Moving through the forest he carried his friend beside him moving quicker than any human without much effort... the will of the angels. Dean wanted to ask him why he didn't port but he couldn't find words falling in and out of consciousness.

It seemed like hours they staggered through the endless forest, Dean trying to keep with it the whole time... trying to take steps in an effort to assist the angel. His boots hit every root along the ground stubbing and tripping the entire way.

Groaning in a muttered fit of self defeat and pain Dean tried best to get a view behind them seeing nothing moving around in the darkness behind them. The animals either lost scent which seemed unlikely or something else caught their attention.

Moving against the flow of the water they soon came to a large pool encompassing a waterfall cascading ferociously down the descending mountain. The top barely visible in the shadows and pounding water silencing anything nearby, the perfect hiding place.

"Sight seeing?" Dean croaked sarcastically, "Really Cas?"

"Stop talking..." Castiel looked annoyed, not so much at his dry sense of humor but the idea that he was still trying to move, talk and function only causing him that much more strain, "The waterfall should provide a safe haven for the time being.. it'll hard for anything to track us beneath it and our sounds should be muffled out.

"Is this where you took off to?" The Winchester pressed bitterly, "You left me behind to-"

"I can move faster on my own, I tried to hurry." Castiel sighed realizing he did in fact make the wrong decision again leaving Dean behind, he just figured the man could hold his own for a short time... but the angel took longer than he expected, "My power is limited here... too far from the reach of heaven I assume."

It wasn't long before they moved around the back of the waterfall staggering across slippery wet rocks covered in a thick layer of algae, the mist of the falls showering them as they slipped through into the dark cavern dug out behind the water pouring down. With a grim look Castiel lowered Dean to the rocky surface resting him back and watching over his shoulder.

"We'll be safe here for now, this will buy us more time to find a way out." He assured Dean rounding to observe the wound, pressing his palm against the man's gaping chest he jumped at the fit the Winchester instantly threw... the pain must have been intense but Castiel didn't let up.

He waited, expecting his powers to be able to heal somewhat, just enough... but they did nothing. Panic swept over him, with wide and breath instantly becoming shaky letting off, "Dean..."

The man laid there unresponsive cringing and panting, a cold sweat running off him. Castiel proceeded his best at traditional methods quietly dressing the wound in any way he could. He couldn't have Dean die, not here... he couldn't be left alone in this darkness. His expression didn't hide the emotions running through his head, worried, disgusted, dreading the possibilities...

Not to mention all along he was weighing the likeness of them finding a way out of this... cage.

The night drug on as Castiel covered his friends body with his own tattered coat to shield him from the cold... the wound wrapped best her could, the shredded leather tossed to the side in a heap of blood. He'd need to dispose of that... it'd do nothing but attract animals, beasts. Vampires could smell blood from miles away, and the wolves? Who could say just how far they'd pick up the scent.

Sighing he was relieved to see that Dean was still breathing, sleeping in a restless slumber recovering what little strength he could. Castiel bewildered as to how he managed to escape the begotton beast that assaulted him in the first place.

Sometime passed in the silence of the dark cave, the only light was a shimmering glow passing through the water from what seemed like a moon in the distance. Or some sort of energy pocket? Whatever it was it offered some clarity, some sort of peace to the angel as he sat there watching the human sleep.

It wasn't long before Castiel couldn't bare sitting in the dead silence of the water, the bloodstained rags worrying him even further. If something found them there was little he could do... Tossing them in the water wouldn't have helped either, they'd simply flow downstream til something picked up on it and followed it back here.

Taking up the bundle the angel moved from the cave along the green rocks once more carefully stepping around the streams of water forcing their way through the crevices. The expression of determination plastered his face as he moved quickly and efficiently discarding piece of the jacket around the forest leading anything that could track them away. He moved faster than any human yet he couldn't fly here... power not completely drained but enough to make his life miserable, and protecting Dean that much harder.

Tossing the rest of the bundle over the side of a steep ledge he paused for a moment taking in the chilling air before he'd head back safely to their camp. Eyes closed softly facing out over the ledge, he'd never been to this land before. Hell was one thing, they knew so much of the place.. the Garrison.

Hell was the domain of the demons, not unlike angels in many ways but the hellish spawns of evil that sucked the life out of everything. Their evil schemes were always to raise Lucifer, and when it wasn't that looming threat it was always the corruption of mankind. Yet Hell was predictable; Even when Castiel had to lay siege to it, there was little the angels didn't expect. Fire was an exaggeration, it was hot down there but fire wasn't all the place consisted of, so many depictions showed fiery caverns that resembled that of volcanic underground caverns.

It was less literal, no hanging cages and torturing devices laid out like some sick bondage chamber, but more like the sense that heaven was... Everyone got their own little piece of hell. Their worst fears, guilt, pain were brought down as punishment driven by their own minds. Everyone had their own little dungeon whether it looked like something that had haunted them from childhood, or some sort of demonic fortress... their imagination is what drove it to the cruel lengths for eternity.

That's why the souls become demons, how long can you endure something so long before it doesn't effect you? Eventually you start to enjoy the pain, it becomes some sick twisted fetish and this black crusted soul is born waiting for it's one escape back to earth.

Dean... He was well on his way down the twisted thorny path. Castiel hardly expected him to give into the torture so fast, the pain he could endure no longer taken and given to the other unfortunate souls that ended up on Alistair's dinner plate. It wasn't fair but Lilith picked Dean out special... especially when she realized his own Father wouldn't crack and break the first seal only to be rescued by the brother's themselves before they could wear him down.

Shaking his head Castiel was nearing the last flat distance that would lead him back to the falls, he hardly realized he'd gone so far lost in thought. The first look he'd given Dean since before the Winchester was thrown viciously into the pit of hell was when he came upon Alistair's lair. He's watched Dean his whole life, only interjecting when needed to save him from some foolish mistake along the lines of hunting, or leaving clues for the brothers to find on their endeavors. He never believed in God, Angels, or the thought of a happy ending but he was true.. Dean would go that extra mile for a complete stranger if they were in danger without any disregard for his own life. That is what made him the Righteous Man... the first seal waiting to be shattered.

And it was shattered, the man he once was lay before Castiel in hell shattered in thousands of shards across the floor. The doppelganger of a man standing before him holding tools of torture and grinning as he sliced apart human souls, the demon Alistair looming behind him admirably. At first the angels instructed him to leave the man, it was too late the seal had broke... there was no point, and they were right. Yet Castiel who had watched him grow into a man couldn't leave Dean behind, he couldn't simply walk away... Dean deserved better.

Gripping the soul tight, as resistant as he was the angel's mark seared into his arm as he took Dean from hell. Raised his soul back up to earth restoring his body to life.. hoping luck would be on his side, hoping Dean would somehow not remember all the deeds he'd done under Alistair's control. Alas he remembered everything, and struggled through life as an empty shell unsure of what to do with his feelings, unsure why he enjoyed killing and wondering why he was spared in the first place. Though his foul addiction didn't carry over with him back to earth, and for that Castiel was relieved... but he knew there was something always broken inside him, and there always would be.

Even after everything that happened, even after the leviathans and the humility Castiel held he couldn't leave Dean... he had to stay close. The veil was lifted, the daze he'd been carrying since he took in Lucifer seemed out of sight out of mind. He was no longer 'off his rocker' as Crowley might have worded it.

Just in time too, there was no room here for a pacifist... only a soldier, a soldier of Heaven.

The last one remaining.

"_So it's true._" Words pierced the cold night air freezing the angel in his tracks, his dark eyes coming to rest on the simple white gown of a young woman. Her brunette hair flowing over her shoulders with beauty, eyes dark but alive. Her smile was all too familiar... and somehow Castiel wondered how she was even able to get the jump on him, "_I heard there was an Angel and a Winchester in my realm... I had to see for myself... Now where is he?_"

Choking back any sort of worry he held refusing to give any indication to the direction Dean was in Cas stepped back holding himself tall meeting her toying gaze, "Eve..."

She simply grinned, "Y_ou're the angel who stole all my children's souls... You're the angel that saved Dean Winchester from __**becoming**__ one of my children. And that worthless creature is the one who sent be back._" Even though she smiled the venom of hatred dripped from her words. "_I'm going to enjoy this..._"

_Not sure where I'm going with this but if you have any ideas feel free to throw them at me. Thanks for reading guys!_

_-JJ_


End file.
